


After the After Party

by tedaltmans



Category: Young Avengers
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-14
Updated: 2014-06-14
Packaged: 2018-02-04 14:47:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,833
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1782832
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tedaltmans/pseuds/tedaltmans
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the world is saved and breakfast is had, Tommy seeks out David.</p>
            </blockquote>





	After the After Party

**Author's Note:**

> Picks up directly after Vol. 2 ends. Cross-posted to tumblr. I'm tedaltmans there too, if you want to see more writings.

It’s not until later, when they’re all back on Noh Varr’s spaceship with their bellies full of breakfast and heading for what is presumably home, that David hears a quiet, tinning knock against the door to his bunk. At almost three in the morning, he has no idea who it could be, who’s even awake still, but he leans up in bed and presses the door release anyway.

When the metal slides open with a gentle _whoosh_ , Tommy is standing on the other side.

“Hey,” he says. He’s still in the same uniform David saw him wearing when he disappeared, hair askew beneath the orange goggles shoved onto his head. Standing motionless on the outside of the doorway he looks small, like the darkness is just going to swallow him right back up again.

David switches on the light next to his bed. “What’s up?”

Tommy crosses his arms, uncrosses them, then crosses them again and sighs. “I don’t actually know where I’m supposed to be.”

Though his mind has always worked fast, David crinkles his brow at those words. A jerk of his head and Tommy comes inside. The door whooshes closed behind him. He doesn’t wait for an invitation to sit on the edge of the mattress.

“This whole spaceship thing is new to me,” Tommy says. He plucks the goggles off his head and tosses them onto the nightstand, careful to avoid hitting David’s glasses.

His hair is sticking up at odd angles, but it looks soft and David suddenly has a desire to put his hands through it. Whether to smooth it down or mess it up even more, he doesn’t know. Maybe a little of both.

“If you’re looking for a place to sleep, you’re welcome to stay here.” David hears himself saying the words before he really thinks them through, but what else is he supposed to do? Tommy went straight from nonexistence to party mode and David is pretty sure no one explained the living situation to him. They had a lot to ground to cover in the here’s-what-you-missed corner. He’s not going to deny Tommy a bed to sleep in because some multidimensional cosmic horror monster thing tried to convince him he had _feelings_.

Tommy nods. The corner of his lip turns up.

“Thanks. Billy and Ted’s room is kind of a no-go.” Tommy glances at David before turning his eyes to the sleek metal walls. “Kate’s off somewhere already, the new girl looks pissed, and the last time I met Noh-Varr he was trying to kill me. Plus I was kind of dancing with his ex all night so I don’t think he’ll be too fond of me.”

David nods and sits up, props himself against the headboard of his bed with an arm balanced across a knee. Tommy is fidgeting, tapping the silver ends of his fingertips together and drawing random circles on his palm so David doesn’t press. Seems like a logical first step to take Tommy’s advice, so David doesn’t push faster than he wants to go.

Then, after an extended silence, his efforts pay off.

“Kate said you found them. When I disappeared or whatever.” Tommy’s voice is soft. “You didn’t even think we were friends.”

“You were lost and I couldn’t find you by myself.” David shrugs. Tommy hasn’t told him anything about where he was, how he felt, or if time even passed. Maybe he never would. David was okay with that. “You’d do it for me, right?”

The tilt of Tommy’s lips becomes a full smile. “I would.”

Tommy stays silent after that, too. David wants to reach out, wants to squeeze Tommy’s shoulder or pat him on the back or offer comfort somehow, but the air between them seems too thick. Like if he moves the moment might break. He busies himself by following the threads in his blanket.

“How did you get me back?” Tommy asks finally. As he waits for an answer he stands. David glances up as his weight leaves the mattress in time to see Tommy unfastening the zipper of his uniform and pulling his arms from the sleeves, spandex peeling from his muscled back.

Apparently Tommy was accepting David’s offer and as he watched inch after inch of bare skin appear, David was suddenly concerned that he didn’t have any extra clothes to offer. On their trip through the ‘verse, he changed out of his uniform, slept in his boxers, and put his uniform right back on in the morning. Billy had magicked up their party clothes—maybe he should have asked for some pajamas.

But he’d taken too long to answer and now Tommy was staring at him expectantly, movement paused as he wiggled his fingers out of glove. The dim light was doing its best to highlight the skin of Tommy’s chest, scar marks and all. David looked away to focus.

“Like I told Teddy. I made out with the thing that took you. Patri-Not.”

“Oh.” Tommy lets the loose fabric of his uniform hang from his waist. It slides down his sides, exposing sharp hip bones. When he turns, the white hairs trailing below his navel easily catch the light and, again, David forces his eyes away and his breathing to calm down.

“I, uh,” David stammers, “Sorry, I don’t have anything you can wear.”

“That’s about how it goes in the field, right?” For a second, Tommy has his usual grin back. “No worries.”

David’s nod rattles his skull enough to kick his brain back into gear. The bed is small, but he scoots as close as he can to the wall to make more room. He hopes against all the odds that he doesn’t do something embarrassing with Tommy here, like wake up drooling on him or with his legs wrapped around him or something.

Tommy shucks off the rest of his uniform, revealing green boxer briefs (at which point David thinks he catalogs a few symptoms common in heart attacks), and climbs onto the bed. He sits with his legs crossed and accepts the pillow David gives him, crumpling it under his arm against his chest.

“How’d you know it would give me back?”

“I didn’t.”

“So it’s just a habit to go around kissing people?”

David winces. That was… a little too true about his life right now.

“I think I was part of the problem,” David confesses. If Tommy wants to talk about it now, he’ll talk about it now. He’s starting to realize he’d do a lot of things if Tommy wanted and Tommy is looking at him with wide eyes and raised eyebrows that tell him to continue. “It kept telling me I was in denial.”

“About?”

“Things I might be in denial about.” David laughs under his breath.

“Ooh, vague.” Tommy is smirking now and they’re right back to where they were before all this. They’re just missing the noodles and cheap coffee. David likes that. He figures what he says next won’t ruin it.

“I did come out as bi while you were gone.”

“Did you now?” Tommy doesn’t look all that surprised.

“If that makes you uncomfortable—”

“Why would it?” Tommy cuts him off. David is the one silent after that. A few seconds pass and Tommy runs a hand through his hair, white strands puffing up before he smooths them back down. “I guess this can be the part where I tell you ‘Me too.’”

David didn’t know what he was expecting, but that wasn’t on the list. “Wha—Really?”

“Yeah.” And Tommy shrugs like it’s no big deal. Which it isn’t, not really. Except, David thinks, it won’t be any easier to squash the budding swell he feels in his chest whenever he sees Tommy. “I don’t really ‘come out.’ Don’t think I should have to.”

“Makes sense,” David agrees.

Tommy pinches the corner of his pillowcase. “So how long was I gone?”

And there’s the question David had expected first. He heaves a sigh and answers, “A couple months.”

Tommy nods and scratches at his chin. The skin there is still as smooth as the day he’d led David into the warehouse.

“I’m glad you’re back now,” David says quietly. Tommy’s eyes rise to meet his, hold his gaze for a moment before lifting toward the ceiling.

“I’ve got all the time in the world. But I’m kinda bummed I missed all the world-saving.”

“I’m sure you’ll catch the next one.”

Tommy huffs a laugh at David’s words but whatever he was going to say next is swallowed up in a huge yawn. David lifts the blanket in invitation and Tommy crawls under them. They situate themselves in bed, David hyper-aware of where all his limbs are and making sure none of them are touching his bedmate. Tommy doesn’t seem as concerned. His knees knock into David’s and his knuckles brush against the dark skin of his chest.

When they’re settled, facing each other and Tommy’s nose is somewhere by David’s collar bone, Tommy says, “Hey, David?”

David can feel the air of Tommy’s words warm against his sternum. He doesn’t open his eyes, just hums to let Tommy know he’s still awake and encourage him to keep talking.

“You didn’t get a New Year’s kiss?”

David shakes his head.

“Better late than never though, right?”

When David glances down, Tommy is watching him with those brilliant green eyes and—was that a glimmer of hope in them or was it just David’s lovesick imagination?

He doesn’t have much time to think about it because Tommy is shifting, pushing his weight onto one elbow so they are face-to-face. His fingertips skate across David’s jaw.

“Is this okay?” he asks and David almost laughs because this is the most okay David has felt in a long while. This is so far past okay and verging into great, wonderful, dare he say perfect, that David almost wants to pinch himself and make sure he hasn’t already fallen asleep. All he can muster as an answer is a nod against the whisper of Tommy’s breath across his chin.

And then Tommy is leaning forward. David arches his neck up to meet him half way. Their lips press together and David feels a warm palm against his chest and everything feels like it’s going to be alright. Whatever ‘it’ is.

Tommy pulls away, nonchalant, like he didn’t just make David’s heart rival his top speed. He lays back down leisurely, closer this time with his palms flat against David’s abdomen and his nose tucked into David's neck. Across from him, David’s frozen. He’s a smart guy, he thinks he knows what’s happening, but Tommy has a way of keeping him on his toes and this is something he doesn’t want to rush. Then Tommy takes his hand and guides his arm to wrap around his waist.

“It’s okay,” Tommy whispers before nuzzling closer. David strokes his thumb across the small of Tommy’s back and figures, yeah. It will be.


End file.
